San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-04-30

example we are Offering these married
| ladies'"
The company laughed very heartily,
! for it amused without shocking them,
! thanks to,the air of the Young mPn. who
made it seem the most natural Ching in
/ the world.
There is vacant seat at the other
end OF the table, Arthur" said Miss
Gardner. "YOuT nriglbOr to the left il
Mrs. Tabor; TO the right, Miss Althorpe.
Take good care of them"
Miss Althorpe blushed with yeXatiOn.
She disliked this visitor from the first
moment. The hostess asked for news.
Arthur responded with report of the
latest events of city gossip, adding COM
ments of his own. II sounded like a
column of Figaro when the F!dneiT is
at his best. Hearing some of the ladies'
names, he remembers that he knew
their husbands, speaking u them with
such kindly tact as ilattered the self
love Of even those wives who secretly
held a different opinion. Sure of his
company, Arthur passed TO other topics,
grave and gay. His anecdotes made
them laugh; his quaint remarks made
them ponder. Above all he surprised
them by the variety of his Information.
You are an encyclopedia" said his
friend. This was the opening of cross
fire of batteries between Miss Gardner
and Petty. The young man won, and
she gave up, saying:
You always abound in compliment,
Arthur, when you come here"
How could it be otherwise" he re-
piled, when you supply me with such
fine Opportunities?'
Some of his sallieS were perilOus, vet
they Observation-Disclosures, again, to his
manner. He had often told himself
that clumsy compliment is insOlence;
that forwardness and timidity are alike
fatal; that it is sometimes easier To
walk tight rope than to say the right
word successfully.
His spirit was contagious and the rest
grew laxative, emulating him with
that gOOd-natured audacity which
makes married women the best of con-
yersers.
AS they rose, Miss Gardner said, Ar
thur, you will be too happy here.
Among company of ladies you are like
kitten rolling in catnip."
The merriment was now too much for
him. be blushed up to the hair. But
half recovering, he said:
THAT is metaphorical, of Gourse?"
"Of course-strictly."
Nevertheless there was one lady with
whom Arthur Petty had not succeeded,
and this gave him much secret annoy
aRce. Miss AlthWpe had persistently
refused all the polite attentions he Of
fered her. She had laughed, with the
rest, at some of his sayings, but this
was in spite of herself, and with a sfll-
lister attempt at repression. Oftener
she had muttered something uncOmpli-
mentary. Then that ring Of hers-she
had taken special pains to display it be-
fore his eyes every moment. He had
noticed this so much as to remember
that he had in his pocket ring of pre-
cisely the same shape and make, only
his contained bit of amethyst.
Nor did his annoyance end with the
dinner. In the parlOrS she spoke of
him, and he overheard everything, not
without a suspicion that this was what
she had intended.
"She hated young men who talked so
much, especially when they were blondes
with blue eyes. They never did any
thing great or noble"
MY dear girl" said Petty to himself,
at the first opportunity | will put bee
in your bonnet"
The opportunity came very soon.